I’ve just transferred SDL Trados Studio 2014 onto a brand new work machine. If you’re also planning on retiring your old computer and setting up a new one, I hope you’ll find these instructions useful. I decided to leave Studio 2009 and 2011 behind, but you can follow these steps to transfer them too.

1. Download and install Studio on your new computer

Go to www.translationzone.com > My Account > My Downloads and download Multiterm Desktop and Studio. Install both of them. Run Studio and when you’re asked to activate it, just keep it in the 30-day Demo mode for the time being. Don’t run Multiterm until you’ve activated your license (see the end of this post).

The downloaded version of Studio doesn’t include any Cumulative Updates, so it’s important to go straight to Help > Check for Updates and follow the instructions there.

Now import your saved user profile in your new computer using the “Change user profile” wizard in the same location. You can also import it earlier on when you’re running Studio for the first time.

3. Copy your data

You’ll want to transfer all your translation memories, autosuggest dictionaries and termbases. Hopefully you know where you save all these resources, so they’ll be easy to find and copy onto your pendrive.

Custom dictionary: To move the custom dictionary (where you add words to the spell checker), make sure you know which dictionary you’re using by going to File (or Tools in Studio 2011) > Options > Editor > Spelling.

If you use the Hunspell Spell Checker, copy your custom dictionary from C :\Users\[Username]\App Data\Roaming\SDL\SpellChecker\CUSTOM.dic and transfer it to the same path in your new machine.

If you use the MS Word Spell Checker, copy your custom dictionary from C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\UProof and transfer it to the same path in your new machine.

AutoText: Export the lists you’ve created for each language by going to File (or Tools in Studio 2011) > Options > AutoSuggest > AutoText and follow the export wizard.

Note that it shouldn’t be necessary to export the AutoText and AutoCorrect files at all, because they will be transferred as part of your user profile.

4. Projects

You can copy and recreate Studio projects in your new machine by copying the project folders and the .sdlproj file, but make sure you reproduce exactly the same paths for all the resources that are in each project. If Studio can’t find a certain TM because the path has changed, it’ll make a fuss every time it opens and that can be awkward to sort out. I decided to start my projects from scratch on my new computer.

5. Open Exchange apps

I must admit I didn’t realise how time consuming this part would be. Open Exchange apps have to be installed on your new machine one by one. For my fresh installation, I decided to download all the apps again from the Open Exchange to make sure I was using the latest versions.

If you prefer, you could copy the plug-ins (the apps that run inside Studio) from their old file path to the same path on your new machine. You’ll find them in two different places:

[If you’re transferring Studio 2015 to a new machine, replace “11” with “12” in the file path.]

In the case of standalone apps, and if you’ve still got the .exe or .msi files in the Downloads folder on your old machine, you could copy them and install them on the new one.

Note: the list of apps in the “My apps” section of “My Account” on the SDL website isn’t at all useful. Most of the links to “more information” are broken and the download buttons only give you the version you originally downloaded. Also, some apps can only be downloaded from an external site and so they won’t be in the list at all.

Regex Match AutoSuggest Provider

If you use this OpenExchange app, don’t forget to copy the variables and settings .xml files from here on your old machine:

to the same place on your new machine after you’ve re-installed the app.

Licensed Apps

If you’ve paid for any apps you’ll have the extra job of re-activating the license. AnyTM is an example of one of these. It has a single-user, single-activation license, which means you have to contact the developer to ask for the license to be reset. Erik de Vrieze at CodingBreeze (the AnyTm developer) reset my license immediately. He agrees that single activation isn’t very satisfactory and is looking into a system of automatic online activation that would check that the license isn’t in use on any other machine. That sounds promising.

To finish off this app palaver, I recommend installing Menu Maker to get all your apps organised once and for all.

Edited to add: In Studio 2014, AnyTM is now a free app. In Studio 2015, it actually comes bundled with the core product, so you don’t even have to download it.

6. Return your Studio license

Most people know that this is an essential step before you finally retire your old computer. When you’re sure that you’ve got Studio running smoothly on your new computer, the last step is to return your license on the old one. Open Studio for one last time on your old computer and go to Help > Product Activation > Deactivate. That returns your license to SDL.

Now activate the license on your new computer.

Note: Later, if you want to check something on your old machine and haven’t got the Freelance Plus version, simply deactivate the license temporarily on the new one and activate it again on the old one.

Java

Note: Since Studio 2014 SP2, Studio is no longer Java dependent. The paragraph below now only applies to pre-2014 SP2 versions:

I hardly dare mention The Java Issue because it causes so many problems, but I’d like to quickly touch on my experience of Java on a new machine. The first time I tried to add a term to my term base in Studio I just got a blank window. I tried all sorts of solutions. Finally, I realised that Java had automatically installed its 64-bit version (build 51) to match my 64-bit OS. I uninstalled it and installed it again, selecting the 32-bit version. Problem solved.

The Result

Getting Studio up and running on a new machine takes time and careful planning, but it’s definitely worth the effort. My new Lenovo Thinkpad S440 with its Haswell processor and SSD is lightning fast. It starts Studio, prepares projects, looks up segments in big TMs and autopropagates numbers in next to no time. I don’t even have an excuse to get up and make myself a coffee any more.

Disclaimer

The above instructions worked for me but they may not work for you because computer set ups vary hugely. Follow the instructions at your own risk.

Where to go for more help

You’re entitled to free help on installation and licensing issues, even if you don’t have a support contract. To contact SDL, go to the Solution Finder and troubleshoot your problem or log a support request.

30 Responses to How to transfer SDL Trados Studio to a new computer

Hi Emma–great resource and thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Running smoothly now on my new machine.

One additional note:
If you use Project Templates to create your projects and your new computer ends up with different path names (e.g., I switched to Windows 8 and the [Username] folder switched from my full name to just my first name), you can open the templates in WordPad, do a search (Ctrl +F) for the offending paths, and edit them by hand. In my case, I had to change the paths for multiple glossaries and AutoSuggest dictionaries for each project. (I also had another issue I didn’t notice until upgrade: When I switched from Studio 2009 to 2011, some of my TMs stayed in the 2009 folder! Got that all fixed now,)

If you just have one default template, it’s probably easier to re-create it from scratch, but I had several projects, each with dedicated TMs and some with dedicated glossaries.

Great article, Emma.
And its timing is just perfect because I’m about to start helping a friend (and a colleague) to transfer Studio to a new computer and this article will save me a lot of explaining and time.

Good advice about recreating the projects from scratch rather than transferring them. I think that it is the best approach most of the time because It reduces the likelihood of errors due to path conflicts, and also serve as a good opportunity to rethink a little the whole project workflow and make the necessary adjustments (remove some, update others, etc.).

The licensing mechanism and OX apps are a bit of a pain to deal with. I would love to see a better mechanism for handling both, but this is a topic for another discussion.

Oh, and thank you very much for mentioning my blog article🙂. Appreciated.

So glad that this article was timely for you, Shai, although I’m sure you don’t need the instructions yourself!
I learnt the trick of starting projects from scratch when I had a recurring error to do with updating fields in TMs. It turned out I was using a project dating back to early Studio 2011 days. Starting afresh solved the problem.

Hi Emma. A nice and useful article. I would like to add one thing about Java. You don’t need to uninstall the 64-bit version. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions can coexist on the same machine. Moreover, I would definitely recommend to have them both because otherwise you may receive complaints from some 64-bit applications that you don’t have Java on your PC. The only inconvenience is that the Java updater will update only one of the versions. So I always download the other version from the Oracle website and install it manually when a new version has been released.

Hi Emma
Just wanted to thank you for this and your post on transferring other useful programs – I’m now up and running on my new computer and I’m sure it would have been a far longer, more painful process without your clear, easy to follow instructions!

Thanks Emma, I have just taken the plunge and bought Trados 2014. My computer is usually stable, but it has crashed in the past, so I was wondering whether you would recommend I deactivate Trados at the end of each session before switching off?

I have had to reset this computer (which is all of a year old😉 ) twice so far – and I believe if I did that with Trados, it wouldn’t let me ‘reset’ my own copy of the software after a crash as I would not have deactivated it…. Is this true? Or I am I being over-cautious? Thanks, Jane

Hi Jane,
Good question. No, I wouldn’t recommend deactivating your Studio license at the end of each session. It shouldn’t be necessary, unless, as you say, your computer dies all of a sudden. SDL will reset licenses that have been lost under those circumstances and they usually do it within one working day. If your computer needs to be reset or if you have to reformat your hard disk you’re right about returning your license beforehand. Restoring your computer to a previous point shouldn’t hurt the Studio license though.
Hope that clarifies things a bit,
Emma

Yes, you have helped a lot, thanks! This concern was actually one reason (that and the price!!) I held off getting Trados for such a long time. I feel reassured now that I can use it as I can any other CAT tool now without taking extreme safety measures.

Hi Emma,
What helpful instructions! Just a question: after returning my Studio (2011) license from the old computer, have I to return the Multiterm license as well? I’ll do it just before my old machine goes away and will not be able to return on it when the new one is installed.
Thank you so much!

One last question if you don’t mind. I’ll transfer my MS Office 2007 to my new computer. When I download SDL Studio 2011 again, will I have to search and install the Trados8.dtm plug-in for Word as well? This topic is confusing when searching on Google/ProZ.

I need to reinstall Windows on my computer which involves first transferring all my files to a temporary drive and then retransferring them back to my PC. If I understand correctly there shouldn’t be any risk of losing my translation memories; however I would need to deactivate my licence and then reactivate it when reinstalling Studio? What would happen if I didn’t deactivate? Thanks in advance for any clarifications or tips.

Hi David,
There’s no risk of losing your translation memories or other resources if you follow points 2, 3 and 4 in my post.
Yes, you have to return your license. If you don’t, you’ll have to fill in the form in the SDL KB solution finder under the section “I need to have my license reset”. SDL is pretty fast at sorting this out, but it’s much better to return the license in the first place and avoid unnecessary headaches.
Good luck with the clean installation!
Emma

Thanks so much for your prompt reply. Unfortunately I can’t even get past the first step, i.e. re-installing Trados (I did first deactivate the licence BTW). When I attempt to do so I get the following message:

An error occurred while installing system components for SDL Trados Studio 2014 SP1. Setup cannot continue until all system components have been successfully installed. Component Microsoft .NET Framework 4 (x86 and x64) has failed to install with the following error message: „A failure occurred attempting to install the .NET Framework 4 Full.“ The following components failed to install : – Microsoft .NET Framework 4 (x86 and x64) See the setup log file located at ’C:/Users/padmin/AppData/Local/Temp/VSD201E.tmp/install.log‘ for more information.

When you get a specific error message it’s definitely worth Googling it, or better still, searching for it in the SDL KB. I found this:http://kb.sdl.com/#tab:homeTab:crumb:7:artId:5206
Hope it sorts your problem. If not, SDL provides fast, free support for installation and licensing issues through the Solution Finder.

Happy to report that I’m mostly up and running. The instructions of the above link worked well save for the glitch which was that when I entered the command “net stop WuAuServ” I got a System 5 error. The workaround to that is to run the Prompt Command as an administrator.